Berlin (energate) – The municipal network operators are calling for the terminology to be clarified in the reform of the industrial network charges according to Section 19 of the Energy Industry Act (EnWG). The municipal utility association VKU is calling for the network charge privileges to be clearly aligned with the criterion of network serviceability. “As network operators, we are extremely critical of any definition of system serviceability as a new key criterion for reducing network charges and believe it to be factually incorrect,” says a statement from the association on the ongoing reform process. According to the association, it is not at all clear what “exactly is meant by system serviceability.”
BNetzA wants to reward “system service”
The Federal Network Agency is striving to reform the industrial discounts on network charges. In July, the agency presented a key points paper on this, outlining the idea of linking the reduced network charges more closely to more flexible electricity purchases. This should help to better adapt electricity demand to volatile generation. In the paper, the agency speaks of a “system-friendly special network charge”.
The VKU points out that system serviceability that is solely aimed at balancing supply and demand on the market falls short, as it ignores the conditions in the local network. A supposed system-service orientation towards market signals could lead to “an exacerbation of strained capacity situations” in networks with a high load on the consumption side. In this context, the VKU refers to the “synchronization effect” that a market-oriented incentive system would result in: “Since the price signals affect all customers, many customers react simultaneously by increasing or reducing consumption.” Bottleneck situations could increase as a result.
Individual special arrangements should be possible
Since network charges are to be paid for network use, they should also “have a network-friendly character for the respective network,” the association reiterates its demand. As a solution, it suggests that network operators should be able to determine and adjust the special charges for industry based on the local capacity load. Individual special regulations for each network are “therefore sensible.” The Federal Network Agency had described such alternative agreements, which are geared towards network-friendly behavior, as conceivable in principle in its key points paper. /rb
